Role: Director, Producer, Co-cinematographer
Production Company: Documist
The Territory offers an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau against encroaching land invasions in the Brazilian Amazon. The film premiered at Sundance 2022 where it won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Documentary Craft. The film went on to be screened at over 125 festivals worldwide and was acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films for a theatrical and streaming release and was shortlisted for the 2023 Academy Awards in Best Documentary Feature.
The Territory was created using a unique participatory model in which the Uru-eu-wau-wau people became co-producers of the film itself, eventually taking on roles as cinematographers and executive producers. Using a profit-sharing model, the Uru-eu-wau-wau Association was given an equal portion of the profits from the sale of the film as other creative partners. In the year following the film’s release, a dedicated impact team led by Marianna Olinger was able to harness the momentum of the film to enact real social and political change. You can read more about the film’s impact efforts here.
“A singular achievement of cinematic craft, the film thrills with a soaring score, sound design, skillful editing and cinematography, all in support of a story that is both intimate and epic.”
— Sundance 2022 Documentary Jury
Impact
In partnership with Kanindé, Associaçao Jupaú, National Geographic, and ThinkFilm, Documist developed and led a groundbreaking impact campaign designed to help support the Indigenous movement in Brazil. The first year of The Territory’s impact campaign was led by impact producer Marianna Olinger. Together, we created a 16 story mural of murdered land defender Ari Uru-eu-wau-wau, supported the passage of the EU’s 2022 Anti-Deforestation Bill, and held over 100 community screenings of the film around the world. Read more about the effects of our impact campaign in this Year One Report.
Awards
2023 Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
2023 Peabody Award
2022 Sundance Film Festival, World Documentary Audience Award
2022 Sundance Film Festival, Special Jury Award for Documentary Craft
2022 NYT Critics Pick
2022 Zurich Film Festival, Science Award
2022 True/False Film Festival, True Life Award
2022 Provincetown International Film Festival, John Schlesinger Award
2022 CPH:DOX, Special Mention for F:act Award
2022 Banff Mountain Film Festival, Best Documentary
2022 Sheffield DocFest, Special Mention for Tim Heatherington Award
2022 Seattle International Film Festival, Best Documentary
2022 Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, Moving Mountains Award
2022 Cinema Eye Honor for Best Debut Feature
2022 PGA Awards, Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
2022 Gotham Awards, Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
2022 Critics Choice Awards, Nominated for Best Science Documentary, Best Debut Feature, and Best Cinematography
